ScienceDaily: Renewable Energy News

Best hope for saving Arctic sea ice is cutting soot emissions, say researchers

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:00:00 EDT
Soot from the burning of fossil fuels and solid biofuels contributes far more to global warming than has been thought, according to a new study. But, unlike carbon dioxide, soot lingers only a few weeks in the atmosphere, so cutting emissions could have a significant and rapid impact on the climate. Controlling it may be the only option for saving the Arctic sea ice before it all melts.

Nanotech coatings produce 20 times more electricity from sewage

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EDT
Engineers have made a significant advance toward producing electricity from sewage, by the use of new coatings on the anodes of microbial electrochemical cells that increased the electricity production about 20 times. The findings bring the researchers one step closer to technology that could clean biowaste at the same time it produces useful levels of electricity -- a promising new innovation in wastewater treatment and renewable energy.

Reports detail global investment and other trends in green energy

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT
Investment in green energy in China, most notable in wind energy, leapt 53 per cent in 2009, bucking a trend during the recession that saw global investments dip 7 per cent overall from 2008 levels. However, if spending on solar water heaters (now used in 70 million world households) and total installation costs for rooftop solar were included, renewables investment worldwide increased last year.

Switching off your lights has a bigger impact than you might think, says new study

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EDT
Switching off lights, turning the television off at the mains and using cooler washing cycles could have a much bigger impact on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power stations than previously thought, according to a new study. Researchers in the UK show that the figure used by government advisers to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide saved by reducing people's electricity consumption is up to 60 percent too low.

Stability and utility of floating wind turbines shown in new study

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 02:00:00 EDT
While offshore wind turbines have already have been constructed as a renewable energy solution, they've traditionally been situated in shallow waters, where the tower extends directly into the seabed. Now a group of researchers in California has studied the feasibility of placing wind turbines on floating platforms.

Green driving? Putting second generation biofuels to the test

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 EDT
Researchers have been studying the sustainability of second generation biofuels and have calculated how much fuel might be saved in Switzerland through the use of these new products. The investigation concludes that between 10 and 40 per cent of current fuel requirements could be sustainably supplied by second generation biofuels, taking vehicle efficiency and electromobility factors into account.

New process is promising for hydrogen fuel cell cars

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EDT
A new process for storing and generating hydrogen to run fuel cells in cars has been invented by chemical engineers.